Buddhism is a philosophicalreligion based on the teachings of Gautama Buddha. The primary goal of Buddhism is the attainment of enlightenment, a realization of the true nature of the universe as it pertains to sentient beings. This enlightenment involves the recognition that life is, to varying degrees, an illusion - a complex web of interdependent causes and effects. This doctrine is the foundation for the Buddhist concept of reincarnation.

Right Livelihood - One's job does not harm in any way oneself or others; directly or indirectly

Right Effort - One makes an effort to improve

Right Mindfulness - Mental ability to see things for what they are with clear consciousness

Right Concentration - State where one reaches enlightenment and the ego has disappeared

Buddhism as an atheistic religion

While some Buddhists view the Buddha as a deity, or similar, Buddhism does not necessarily include any concept of a god or god worship. The primary focus is on the personal journey toward the "correct" understanding of the nature of the universe and one's self. The absence of a positive belief in a god means that most Buddhists could be categorized as atheists, though that label is insuffienct to describe the bulk of their beliefs.

Buddha specifically refused to answer a number of questions which are usually foundational to theistic religions.

Whether the tathāgata (Buddha) exists after death, or not, or both does and does not, or neither does nor does not.

To Buddha, those questions were irrelevant and possiblly counter-productive.

Rational objections to Buddhism

While personal growth and peaceful co-existence are laudable goals and meditation may be enjoyable and beneficial; Buddhism includes some unsupported assertions which deserve critical examination.

Reincarnation

There is no reliable evidence to support the claim that sentient life possesses some sort of eternal essence or soul which could be reincarnated. Additionally, there's no rational reason to propose the possibility of reincarnation and this may simply be the result of wishful thinking.

As the Buddha suggests that cravings (desires) are the cause of reincarnation and that enlightenment can end the cycle of rebirths, one must wonder why the desire for enlightenment is somehow viewed as a "good" craving. The logical extension of this line of thought has lead many to an ascetic lifestyle in the hopes of reaching deeper "spiritual" understanding.

Enlightenment

The pursuit of knowledge and understanding is accepted, nearly ubiquitously, as a worthwhile goal but there's simply no reason to assert that any "ultimate understanding" is attainable by personal reflection. While it may be impossible to achieve an ultimate understanding by any method, the most consistently reliable path to understanding has proven to be scientific investigation.

The idea of enlightenment, that meditation and quiet reflection will somehow allow the universe to reveal itself to the individual, is another unsupported assertion and, like reincarnation, most likely reflects the wishful thinking of sentient beings who crave understanding.